Floodlight Cam Lights coming on constantly

I just got and installed my first of two Floodlight cams. When I got home last night I found the light was on so I turned it off manually. The light cam back on in a few seconds. I turned it off again and it did the same thing. So, I left it by itself and it turned on then off for a few seconds and back on constantly. I checked to see if there were any alerts and there was nothing noted. My wife told me that it was doing it all night. I ended up turning the whole camera off for the night.

Any ideas? I checked and I don’t have a schedule and as I have stated I don’t have any alerts.

I turned it back on this morning and so far the light hasn’t come on.

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Sorry to hear about this @rwheelwright! The Floodlight Cam has two methods of motion detection, one to notify and one for lights. The 270 degree field of view for the lights to trigger allows for it to catch approaching heat signatures efficiently. Sometimes this can be triggered too often and settings need to be fine tuned. Check out our help center article on how to best control the lights of your Floodlight Cam.

I recommend also checking the surrounding area for any potential heat signatures as well as adjusting the physical angle the Floodlight Cam is facing. Please let us know how this goes!

I had to adjust the settings under lighting and make the area much smaller. However, the night that it kept going on and off it was ~50 outside and no heat that I know off. That light is in the back of the house facing the deck and trees. The light would turn on for 30 seconds, turn off for 4 - 5 seconds and back on. It was a continuous loop.

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Thanks for the update @rwheelwright! If lights begin to trigger too often again, I recommend adjusting your zones to the smallest setting. If it persists, please call our support team who can perform more in depth troubleshooting steps with you. :slight_smile:

I have this same issue with wired floodlight cam. I have had this floodlight working well since June. One night last week, I noticed that the lights were coming on continually for about 30 seconds and then turn off for a few seconds and keep repeating this cycle. I tried adjusting the controls and turning off the lights in the app but it would turn itself back on. I turned the power off for the night and turned it on the next night and had the same problem. I was able to turn down the light sensor range way down to stop the lights from coming on but now you have to be within a couple of feet of the light to trigger it which is basically useless. I noticed that this happened around the same time that I started using the Rapid Ring App.

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Interesting, @YK2000 . Have you tried deleting the Rapid Ring App to see if this continues to happen?

No, I have not deleted the Rapid Ring App. However, I did download the latest Ring App update today and reset the light settings and the lights seem to be back to normal at this time.

I have the same problem. I have a several spotlight cams (purchased a year ago) that work perfectly! I added a new one to my set and the newer one has the PIR and the light is going on constantly! Based on this thread, I’ve turned the light sensor down pretty low (but I like the motion sensor up to capture any activity). I’ll watch it tonight to see if turning down the light sensor helps.

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Kjohnrussell,

When did you get your new floodlight camera? This past Thursday I installed 2 replacement floodlight cameras that had manufacture dates of October 2019. What I finally figured out on Friday night is that both floodlight cameras keep automatically turning on the floodlights (not the cameras just the lights) every 30 minutes on the dot all night long. There is nothing outside that is triggering this. Are your cameras doing something similar?

I’ve spent the last four days trying to first figure out what was happening and troubleshoot myself, then on the phone with ring support for hours. They haven’t been able to figure it out, and they say that I’m the only one having this problem…

Please let me know if you’re having the same issue!

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It is a new device, purchased about one-two months ago. Personally, I think the passive infrared (PIR) is defective on these newer versions of the floodlight cams is defective (or something).

That said, if you go into Device Settings | Light Settings | Motion Zones for Lights – this is where you can set the distance for motion sensing. This is what controls when the light comes on, not motion but PIR. I have been slowly turning this to shorter and shorter distances and that SEEMS to help, but it’s hard to say. I have mine set almost to min but my light is still going on periodically.

Just to be clear, the light sensor is NOT tied to the motion sensor. You can (as I have done) keep the motion sensitivity turned to whatever level you would like. The motion sensor is what triggers recording - lights or not.

Let me know if that helps you.

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I had to turn the zone down for the light to the minimum setting. It still turns on once in a while but not nearly as much as before. Anything higher than minimum it would still happen too frequently.

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@kjohnrussell

Thanks for your reply.

I also thought from the very beginning that it’s a bad batch of floodlight cams. Hopefully, it will help if they see that I am not the only one with these issues.

There is another discussusion that I found last night of the exact same issue, and I’ve posted some replies there and have sent the link to the level 2 that is working on this.

https://community.ring.com/t5/Security-Cams/floodlight-cam-lights-go-on-every-30-mins-for-about-20-secs/td-p/5655

After calling Ring support several times over a couple days, I was able to speak directly with a Level 2 on Saturday night, and we spent about 2 hours troubleshooting and running various tests. He escalated (to software engineers).

What has been determined is

  1. It is NOT related to the sensitivity (distance) setting in the light settings. Thus not related to external motion triggers. I am glad that you have also tested and noted that this is not the issues. This has been tested more than three times by me and then by Ring several times now. They need to stop trying to test this, as it is a waste of time. Plus, reducing the functionality of the lights would not be an acceptable solution, as then an intruder would practically be in your house by the time the lights turn on. There would be no light deterrent and little hope that you get a decent picture of the intruder.

  2. It is not due to electrical issues.

  3. Neither of my floodlight cameras are able to update the firmware, even through a cellphone hotspot.

What is the firmware version for your floodlight(s)?

Can you please post your replies to the other thread? I think it would help if Ring saw in one posting that many people are having this issue.

Thanks.

https://community.ring.com/t5/Security-Cams/floodlight-cam-lights-go-on-every-30-mins-for-about-20-secs/td-p/5655

@kjohnrussell wrote:

It is a new device, purchased about one-two months ago. Personally, I think the passive infrared (PIR) is defective on these newer versions of the floodlight cams is defective (or something).

That said, if you go into Device Settings | Light Settings | Motion Zones for Lights – this is where you can set the distance for motion sensing. This is what controls when the light comes on, not motion but PIR. I have been slowly turning this to shorter and shorter distances and that SEEMS to help, but it’s hard to say. I have mine set almost to min but my light is still going on periodically.

Just to be clear, the light sensor is NOT tied to the motion sensor. You can (as I have done) keep the motion sensitivity turned to whatever level you would like. The motion sensor is what triggers recording - lights or not.

Let me know if that helps you.

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@rwheelwright

Thanks for your reply.

Our lights are going on exactly every 30 minutes, and turning down the sensitivity has not stopped it. I would also be concerned that turning the light senstivity down makes the security camera ineffective at night, as the lights wouldn’t go on until the intruder is under the lights, already in your home, or never (depending on where the lights are positioned)…

In my first set of floodlight cams, when it was windy and branches moved, I had to turn off two of the three pre-setzones. It would be helpful if the light settings had more options and precision…

@rwheelwright wrote:

I had to turn the zone down for the light to the minimum setting. It still turns on once in a while but not nearly as much as before. Anything higher than minimum it would still happen too frequently.

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I have 5 spotlight cams; I installed them in August 2019. Of the 5, one was on and off all night last night. I set all sensitivities to minimum levels, yet it continued to cycle on/off frequently.

One thing I noticed is that our air conditioner unit is almost directly below the cam. It was windy last night and the compressor fan blades were turning. Today I am going to adjust the angle of the camera and see if that helps; will report back.

Anyone ever find a solution for this? Mine is constantly turning off and on still all night.

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I changed the sensor area to eliminate coverage of the air conditioner, and that worked for me. It seems the motion sensor was picking up on the fan blades being turned by the wind, even when the AC unit was not working.

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I also have had the problem with my floodlight cam light constantly turning off and on. After reading this forum, I agree with LeeA. Just to the left of my floodlight cam, I have a window AC unit, that is for my closed-in patio, and I had it running. After reading LeeA’s post, I turned that A/C unit off, and my light ceased to cycle. This camera is on the same electric circuit as the floodlight cam, but it also is close to the floodlight cam. So, I don’t know which was contributing to the on/off sequence of the light, being on the same electric circuit or picking up some “signal” from the A/C unit, but turning the A/C unit off worked. Hope this helps.

Unbelievable. alllll the functionality and a super simple button to TURN OFF THE LIGHTS NO MATER WHAT does not exist… You guys succeed so well at so much of this. But this a HUGE FAIL… so I have flood lights in my back yard but if I want to hang out at night . I have to way of easily and consistently keeping the extremely bright light from coming on… so ridiculous.

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Plus one all the way…so annoying

Did this ever get resolved. I had zero problems and at some point in last 6 months or so it started going off constantly. It literally goes on and off for hours with only a few seconds in between it turning on and off. There is no motion, and I have done all the typical troubleshooting (angle change, reducing range, turning off zones) and nothing works… I finally resorted to covering up the sensor on the light… still is going off at night…

I am convinced this is a firmware issue. That is the only thing that can explain why this didnt happen for over a year and a half and then all of a sudden started happening sround the same time so many of us have started having the issue.

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